Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. We died with Christ. Mu, in his commentary, writes: It is in and with Christ's own death, then, that believers were themselves bought from death. to life. We are complete in Christ.
Because we are united with Christ, in particular, We are united with Him verse 11 in His death. Welcome to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Today on the verdict, we're looking at a brilliant and profound truth of the gospel. that if we truly understand it, will encourage you, humble you, and inspire you. Followers of Christ are more than just servants or friends of Jesus.
The Bible says we are united with Him.
So let's explore the implications of this mind-blowing truth. Here's Pastor John Monroe with his message, United with Christ.
Well, today we're continuing in our study of the book of Colossians and growing in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ as Paul discusses the uniqueness. and supremacy of our Saviour. Only the infinite Christ can hold the fullness of deity. And out of that infinite fullness, all of our needs are met, and much more. Are you enjoying and relying on the fullness of Christ?
Last time we considered that in Jesus Christ are hidden all All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, as Paul explains in Colossians 2, verse 3. Are we united with Christ? Yes. One of Paul's favorite descriptions of the Christian is that he or she is in Christ. Today and next time we'll be thinking of what it means to be united with Christ.
I ask you to open your Bibles to Colossians. Colossians 2 verses 11 through thirteen but before we Look at these verses in particular. Let us read for the sake of connection and understanding from verse 6. of Colossians two.
So let's Read the Word of God, I'm reading from the English Standard Version. Colossians two then verse six. Remember the theme of Colossians is the supremacy. The sufficiency. Of our Saviour.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition. According to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him The whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily. and you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority.
In him also you are circumcised, with a circumcision made without hands. by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. having been buried with him in baptism, In which you were also raised with him through faith in a powerful working of God. Who raised him from the dead? And you who were dead in your trespasses, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.
By cancelling the record of debt that stood against us, With its legal demands. This he set it aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame. by triumphing over them in him a magnificent passage in this central portion of this letter to Colossians. In our study of closure, we've been learning This profound and astonishing truth That we who trust in Jesus Christ, that we who know Christ are fulfilled in Christ, we are satisfied in Christ, and indeed are significant.
In Christ. That is, we have been made complete in Christ. All we Need all we want is found and found alone in Christ. There was the false teaching in Clossey. Seeking to distract them, saying they needed further enlightenment, a worship of angels, a false doctrine, a mixture of asceticism and mysticism and legalism.
And Paul. makes it very, very clear. That all that we need is found in Christ. Notice what he says in verse 9. For in him that is in Christ The whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily and you have been filled in him.
Christ is the one in whom The fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. Just as the wee boy stands in the Atlantic Ocean and fills his little pail from the fullness of the ocean, so we stand in all of the sufficiency of Christ and draw from his Fullness. Why would you seek anything else? Why would you look anywhere else when we have the inexhaustible, the Supreme Christ? We are in Him.
We are in Christ. And he is in us, Paul has been telling us, the hope of glory. All of Christ is available to those who are trusting in Him.
Now, if you have a friend, you probably don't give all of yourself to that friend.
Sometimes friendships can be draining.
Sometimes, however much we love our friends, we want to be on our own.
Sometimes they may be rather demanding and we may give them something of ourselves, but everything that we have and are is generally not available to anyone else, but all of Christ is available to those who are trusting. in him. As we look particularly at verses 11, 12, and 13, we will learn that believers are complete in Christ. Because we are united with Christ.
Now, this union with Christ is one of Paul's great themes, developed in particular in Romans 6. A difficult concept for us, I think. But this is a very dynamic truth, which if we grasp, Will encourage us, will humble us, and will inspire us that we are, as the people of God, you are, as a follower of Jesus Christ. You are united with Christ. Our subject then is united with Christ.
as we look particularly at verses 11. 12 and 13. First of all, I believe that Paul is saying in verse 11 that believers died with Christ.
Now verse eleven, like other verses in Colossians, is not the easiest verse for us to understand or to expound. But I believe that's what Paul is saying, that we who are followers of Christ that we have died with Notice what he says, in him that is in Christ also. You are circumcised. with a circumcision made without hands, By putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.
Now what is circumcision? In the Old Testament, circumcision was the sign of what covenant? Abrahamic covenant, thank you. Very discouraging if no one answered that this morning. That's true.
Every male Jew was circumcised on the eighth day. Circumcision was a perpetual reminder of God's special covenant with his earthly people, the Jewish nation, that covenant that we thought of this morning, the Abrahamic covenant. Unbelievers Were referred to over and over again as the uncircumcised. The Jewish people were circumcised. The Gentiles, those who were not part of the covenant, those who were outside the Commonwealth of Israel, they are the uncircumcised.
Now in the New Testament some Jewish believers perhaps understandably, said that Gentiles who trusted in the Messiah that they must be circumcised. And that was a big debate in the New Testament. It's particularly addressed in the book of Galatians. If you go over with me to Galatians five, Galatians, the great charter of Christian freedom. Freedom from legalism.
Notice what Paul says, Galatians 5. Verse one. For freedom. Christ has set us free. Isn't that magnificent?
Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look, I Paul say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. Yeah. And so Paul In the six chapters of Galatians, argues against the Judaizers, those who are saying that it's not enough to embrace Christ, it's not enough to be saved by grace. In order to be a true follower of Christ, you must be circumcised.
And Paul, of course, refutes that very, very strongly. Believers in Christ. We who are in the church, we do not require to be circumcised. We are no longer bound by that old covenant. But what does this circumcision refer to here in verse 11?
What is, he says, you were circumcised. with a circumcision made without hands. Paul, when he writes to the Ephesians in Ephesians 2 verse 11 says, Remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Physical circumcision was performed by human hands. Here Paul is making it very clear, whatever he's referring to, he's not referring to physical circumcision.
He's referring, he says, to a circumcision made without hands, a kind of spiritual circumcision.
Now this expression in verse 11 translated in the ESV by putting off The body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ is a very difficult expression. And there are, I think, two basic interpretations. If you've got the NIV Bible, It gives an interpretive translation in verse 11 as follows. Here is the NIV translation of verse 11. In him that is in Christ.
You were also circumcised. in the putting off of the sinful nature. Not with a circumcision done by the hands of men, but with the circumcision done by Christ. In that interpretation, and the NIV is given an interpretation there, in that interpretation, the circumcision is a reference to the putting off of the old nature. The old King James says the body of the sins of the flesh.
So the NIV and the King James would seem to agree. Another interpretation, and in my view, a more accurate one, but if you disagree, we're not going to fall out over it. But another interpretation is that the expression the putting off of the body of the flesh graphically refers to the death and crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in that interpretation, the body of the flesh is not referring to the sinful nature of the believer, but to the physical body and flesh of Jesus Christ.
Now the expression verse 11 Putting off the body of the flesh, that identical phrase in Greek, is also. used in chapter one Verse twenty-two. Do you want to turn there? when we're trying to interpret a difficult expression. In Scripture, we look for the context and we see: has the writer used this expression elsewhere in the context?
And Paul has. Colossians 1, verse 22. He says, He that is Christ has now reconciled in his body of flesh by His Death. There, the NIV correctly translates it as Christ's physical body. The New American says his fleshly body.
The ESV says his body of flesh. In circumcision, in physical circumcision, A small piece of flesh is removed from the body. I think what Paul is Referring to here is this, when he talks about the circumcision of Christ. At the crucifixion, There was a violent removal, a cutting, a circumcision, as it were, of Christ's body. Christ's physical circumcision as a baby boy anticipated the circumcision of Christ when on the cross he was cut off from the land of the living.
And if that is true with his vivid metaphor, which admittedly is difficult for all of us, Paul is teaching that believers have died in Christ. In him, he says, verse 11, also you were circumcised. We have been crucified with Christ. When Christ died as a believer, I died with Christ. Isaiah says, He's wounded for our transgressions.
He's bruised for our iniquities. We died with Christ. Mu in his commentary writes, It is in and with Christ's own death, then, that believers were themselves bought from death. to life. We are complete in Christ.
Because we are united with Christ, in particular, We are united with him, verse 11, in his Death.
Now Some people argue and argue very strongly, particularly those who adopt a covenant theology.
Some argue very strongly that New Testament baptism replaces Old Testament circumcision. In the Old Testament, under the Abrahamic covenant, babies Maybe boys. were circumcised. In the New Testament, No. The equivalent of Old Testament circumcision is New Testament baptism, and therefore, babies should be baptized.
Is that what verses 11, 12, and 13 are teaching? As some try to establish their case from these verses, I don't think so. Think of several reasons why baptism in the New Testament does not replace circumcision. First of all, in the New Testament, Those baptized, those who were baptized, Had first placed their personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Mark 16, verse 16: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.
Whoever does not believe will be condemned. Acts 2:38, repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. In the New Testament, Baptism Is after saving faith, not before it. Secondly, All of the commands in the New Testament regarding baptism are addressed to believers, not to parents. In the Old Testament, there is clear instruction.
to parents under the Abrahamic covenant to circumcise their baby sons. In the New Testament, there is not one command. to any parent to baptize a child. And to build the doctrine of New Testament infant baptism on the Old Testament parallel of circumcision, as some do to this day, I think is a very tenuous foundation. There is not one instance in the New Testament of a baby being baptized.
That's one of the reasons we do not baptize babies. The New Testament doesn't teach that baptism replaces circumcision. Circumcision, the sign of the Abrahamic covenant, was given only to males. New Testament baptism is for all believers, male and female. How do you in the new covenant become a child of promise?
not through baptism, whether as a child or an adult. Not through circumcision. But as we learned this morning, As we turn to Galatians 3, it is through faith in Christ. It is as we place our personal faith in Jesus Christ, the mediator of the Abrahamic covenant, that we receive the blessing, some of the blessings that flow from the Abrahamic covenant. And that comes through personal faith, not through baptism.
The Lord's Supper is the sign and symbol of the new covenant, not baptism. Remember, Jesus said, this cup. is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out. for you. The New Testament spiritual equivalent of Old Testament physical circumcision.
is not water baptism. But as Paul is teaching here in verse 11, the circumcision of Christ. Old Testament physical circumcision. Has been replaced by New Testament spiritual circumcision. In fact, Paul at the end of Romans 2 talks about circumcision now is a matter of the heart.
It's not one outward, but that which is inward, that which is of the heart. Which comes about through the work of Christ on the cross when his body is cut off, as it were, in a violent death. and will become part of God's family. We become part of the great universal church. Not through our physical birth.
Not through a physical act like Baptism But by spiritual birth, by the new birth, by being born again. and admission to the church. is not by a ritual of baptism. but is by faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism In the New Testament is the symbol.
of the spiritual reality of Conversion. The circumcision here in verse 11 is one not done by the hands of men. No, it's a spiritual work of God. Water baptism is an ordinance carried out with hands. But no person can Can give saving faith to an unbeliever.
That is a supernatural work of God. Where God the Spirit comes and brings regeneration in the heart. The Old Testament circumcision of babies was an external ritualistic act. It did not require faith, obviously. Little boys of eight days old could not exercise faith, but New Testament baptism.
Is for those who have personally experienced faith in Christ. If you were baptized as a baby, as many of you were. Mm-hmm. You did not believe. You can't even remember it.
You were done when you were perhaps a few months old. Baptism in the New Testament. is for those who have been saved by the grace of God. And so New Testament baptism. does not replace Old Testament circumcision.
I say that as an aside. I think that Paul is saying here in verse 11, That we As believers in Jesus Christ, we have died with Christ. But not only have we died with Christ, beginning of verse 12, we were buried with Christ. Verse 12. Having been buried with him, that is with Christ in baptism.
Was Christ buried? Of course he was. We don't emphasize it too much, but we should. The gospel is not only that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, but that he was buried. The burial of Jesus Christ is very important.
It establishes, among other things, that he truly was dead. Remember when Jesus died? What happened? Joseph of Arimathea. took Jesus lovingly down from the cross, The unfixed these nails through his h hands.
and his feet. They wrapped him in a linen cloth and Lead. him in a tomb which had been hewn out of a rock. A great stone. is rolled against the entrance.
Of the tomb. There is no doubt. that Jesus' body was buried. The burial is the proof of The death. Paul is saying this amazing thing here.
That we who love Jesus Christ. that we have been buried With Christ. Not only has the Christian dined with Christ, He or she has been buried. With Christ. That is, there has been a decisive break.
with our old sinful life. The old sinful life It's buried. We have died with Christ, and now we have been buried with Him. We have died to sin, and therefore, and this is Paul's argument in Romans 6, we can't continue to live. The same old life as we did before we received Christ.
We are no longer slaves. Yeah. Jesus Christ makes a radical difference in our lives. You know, when we have a baptismal service, as we do here regularly, One way of looking at it only in part is is that it's a funeral service. We are burying Someone.
The old person We're burying, as it were, the old man. He has been crucified with Christ, buried with Christ. The old life has gone. We're we are burying it symbolically. Here is a man.
Businessman, before he came to Christ, he lied and he cheated in order to get ahead. No, he's a Christian. That lying and cheating and deceit. That tax evasion and all of that has gone. It's been buried with Christ.
No He runs his business with honesty and integrity. This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God.
To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry. Whether it's $5, $50, or more, your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world.
And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam. It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? What do you think of Paul's description of following our Lord Jesus as being in Christ? We're accepted by God because we are in His precious Son. Praise God that he was wounded for our transgressions. and was bruised for our iniquities.
Don't trust in your own works. Don't trust in your baptism. but trust in Christ and Christ alone for salvation. Is He your Saviour?
Next time, we'll think a little deeper of this magnificent truth of being united with Christ. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
